William Gisborne (13 August 1825 – 7 January 1898) was the first New Zealand Cabinet Secretary from 1864 to 1869,

Colonial Secretary of New Zealand The colonial secretary of New Zealand was an office established in 1840 and abolished in 1907. The office was similar to colonial secretaries found elsewhere in the British Empire. Along with the chief justice, the office was one of the first ...

from 1869 to 1872, and Minister of Public Works between 1870 and 1871. The city of Gisborne in New Zealand is named after him.

Early life

Gisborne was born in 1825. He was the third son of Thomas John Gisborne (1789–1868) of Holme Hall, near

Bakewell Bakewell is a market town and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, known also for its local Bakewell pudding. It lies on the River Wye, about 13 miles (21 km) south-west of Sheffield. In the 2011 census, ...

in Derbyshire, England. His mother was Sarah Gisborne (née Krehmer). His grandfather was

Thomas Gisborne Thomas Gisborne (31 October 1758 – 24 March 1846) was an English Anglican priest and poet. He was a member of the Clapham Sect, who fought for the abolition of the slave trade in England. Life Gisborne was born at Bridge Gate, Derby, the ...

(1758–1846), who fought for the abolition of the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

in England.

Thomas Gisborne the Younger Thomas Gisborne (1789 – 20 July 1852) was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1830 and 1852. Life Gisborne was the son of Thomas Gisborne, Prebendary of Durham. He was educated at Trinity College, Camb ...

(1790–1852) was an uncle who represented various

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1830 and 1852. His eldest sister, Mary, married William Evans, who would later be made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. William Gisborne emigrated to Australia in 1842 and to New Zealand in 1847. He was initially secretary to

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved to ...

, the lieutenant governor of

New Munster Province New Munster was an early original European name for the South Island of New Zealand, given by the Governor of New Zealand, Captain William Hobson, in honour of Munster, the Irish province in which he was born. Province When New Zealand was sep ...

. He was then appointed commissioner of Crown lands, a role for which he moved to New Zealand's

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. Gisborne returned to England for 1852 and 1853. Afterwards, he held various roles as a civil servant. He resigned from the civil service in 1869. Gisborne married Caroline Gertrude Bridgen at St Mary's Church in the Auckland suburb of Parnell, and the couple had four children (one son, three daughters).

Political career

By 1863 Cabinet had largely taken over the function of the Colonial Executive Council. This led to the establishment of the Cabinet Secretary in 1864 with Gisborne being the first appointee in the role. He resigned from the position in 1869 and left the civil service to take on the role of Colonial Secretary in the third Fox Ministry. He was appointed to the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a co ...

on 2 July 1869, and resigned on 11 January 1871. A week later, he was elected to the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

in the 1871 general election for the Egmont electorate. He resigned on 10 September 1872. In December 1875, Gisborne was a strong candidate for the Wellington mayoralty, but he fell out with the public over him favouring denominational education. In addition, he then announced himself as a candidate for the 1875 general election in the electorate, and that triggered a concerted effort to find a suitable mayoral opponent. When Gisborne lost the mayoral election against William Hutchison, he withdraw from the general election. Gisborne then represented the

Totara ''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and ...

electorate from a , following the death of George Henry Tribe. He was re-elected at the and served until the end of that term of Parliament in 1881.

Later life

He returned to England in 1881 following the death of his elder brother Francis. In 1892 he inherited

Allestree Hall Allestree Hall is a 19th-century former country house situated in Allestree Park, Allestree, Derby. It is a Grade II* listed building but has been unoccupied for many years, and has been placed on the Heritage at Risk Register. The Mundy fami ...

from his brother-in-law, Sir William Evans, 1st Baronet, and died there in 1898. His wife died in 1908. In 1870, the city of Gisborne in New Zealand was named after him. The township of Gisborne in Victoria, Australia, was named after

Henry Fyshe Gisborne Henry Fyshe Gisborne (1813–1841) was the first Commissioner for Crown Lands of the Port Phillip District, founder of Flemington Racecourse and petitioner for Victoria's separation from New South Wales. Early career Henry Fyshe Gisborne was t ...

, who was a cousin of William Gisborne.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gisborne, William 1825 births 1898 deaths New Zealand public servants Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates 19th-century New Zealand politicians Colonial Secretaries of New Zealand People from Allestree